Study of sustainable practices used in wood waste management in the Sri Lankan construction industry

Abstract

Construction waste has become a major concern in almost all sorts of construction projects which include residential, non-residential as well as infrastructure projects. A considerable amount of construction and demolition waste is generated in those types of construction projects. Such generated waste includes brick waste, concrete and aggregate deposits, masonry waste, paper, cardboard, plastic, and wood waste. Wood waste has been recognised as the second largest contributor to construction and demolition waste after concrete and aggregate deposits as evidenced by several past studies. Hence, sustainable practices have received an important place in managing construction and demolition wood waste in the modern era of construction practices. Furthermore, sustainable practices used in wood waste management results in several benefits such as financial benefits, support to achieve green certification and improve the quality of the project, etc. Therefore, this study was focused on exploring various strategies to enhance the application of sustainable wood waste management practices used in the construction industry of Sri Lanka. The research problem was addressed using a quantitative research approach. The comprehensive literature review was carried out in order to determine sustainable practices used in wood waste management in the construction industry. It was followed by a questionnaire which assisted in the collection of data from 50 respondents that were analysed to determine the research findings. According to findings, four major sustainable practices that are implemented to manage wood waste in Sri Lanka include reusing, recycling, using as by-products and using for energy recovering. However, there are several barriers exist to implement sustainable practices. The key barriers include five main financial barriers, five main technical barriers, eight main knowledge barriers, five main institutional barriers and two main socio-cultural barriers applicable in implementing sustainable practices in wood waste management in the Sri Lankan construction industry. To overcome above identified barriers, this study proposed fifteen suitable strategies to enhance sustainable practices used in wood waste management including making awareness on sustainable wood waste management practices, establishing policies on sustainable wood waste management, encouraging contractors to implement sustainable wood waste management and promoting sustainable products, and so on